Lotte Chemical to close PTA plant in UK

9:18 AM MST | December 4, 2013 | Ian Young

Lotte Chemical UK, a subsidiary of Lotte Chemical (Seoul), says it intends to close its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant at Wilton, UK, with the potential loss of 70 jobs. The company cites growing competition from China and falling PTA prices. Lotte plans to enter a formal consultation period with staff at the site to mitigate the impact of the intended closure, including minimizing job losses. Lotte's PTA unit at Wilton has a capacity of about 500,000 m.t./year. Conditions in the PTA market have been challenging since late 2012 and are unlikely to improve...